The next day was another beautiful day.

Purple light, gone.

　Early in the morning, as I looked down at the forest from my watchtower, I noticed this fact.

　The purple lights that were so much in the forest last night were nowhere to be found under the sun's light.

(...Is it a nocturnal light?)

　I nod my head.

　But I remember where it was glowing.

　While it's still bright, I decide to go to that place.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　I walked through the woods for two hours, using a piece of broken couch from the chapel, a long, slender piece of wood as a walking stick.

　I arrived at the scene, but...

...nothing.

　The result is this.

　Green trees, flowing breeze, plants and trees swaying their leaves.

　That's it.

　I can't find anyone's footprints or anything else that might emit a purple light.

(I'm pretty sure this was the place.)

　Even while walking through the forest, I looked back several times to make sure the tower was in the right direction, so it must be in the right direction.

　Pop.

Huh.

　Feeling a sense of futility, I slumped down at the base of a nearby tree.

　I can't move for a while.

(............)

　Still, it is a peaceful forest.

　The wind was blowing softly, making my hair sway, and I could hear birds chirping from somewhere in the forest.

　I had seen small animals like squirrels and rabbits running on the branches of the trees and in the bushes on the way here several times.

　A peaceful forest view.

　It's a scene you would never see in a Japanese city.

I'm so hungry.

　In a daze, I noticed a brown ball of fur in the grass nearby.

　A creature that was round and had long ears.

(...a furball rabbit, maybe?)

　I took the liberty of naming it.

　I picked up a reasonable stone that had fallen at my feet.

　I was hungry.

　And this is a different world, surely a world of the weak and the strong.

　The furball rabbit shows no signs of escaping. Its round eyes are staring at me.

(Silly me, you can be my lunch!)

　I swung my hand holding the stone wide open.

　...............
　...................
　......................

　I still couldn't throw it.

''..........because it's too cute.

　Me, with my hands on the ground, nodding.

　The furball rabbit nodded its head and went off in a pitter-patter.

　No, it's okay.

　Because even if I got a furball rabbit, how do you think I'd be able to handle it or cook it without a knife or fire?

Let's go home.

　I lifted my heavy waist and trudged home.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


Phew!

　When I returned to the tower, I finished my meal with the glowing water.

(...it really is a strange water.)

　This is all it took, and my hunger is still at bay.

　After gulping down about 10 cups of wine and filling my stomach, I went out to explore the forest again.

　This time, I went to the huge cliffs.

　After walking through the forest for about an hour, I arrived at the cliff.

'....it's big.

　I muttered in dismay.

　The vertical wall that seemed to pierce the heavens made my neck ache as I looked up at it.

　A true precipice.

　It went on forever, left and right.

　I put my hand on it to try and climb it.

　Boro.

"What?

　It was terribly brittle and rocky, and as soon as I put my weight on it, it crumbled easily.

　I looked up, clutching my buttocks.

'You can't climb this one,'

　It's a hundred meters to the top.

　I thought it was impossible for an amateur, much less a child, to reach the top.

　If you look closely, there are quite a few traces of falling rocks around.

(...........)

　I let out a sigh and stood up.

　Maybe there was another place I could climb more.

　With a slap on the butt, I regained my composure and walked along the cliff, first to the right.

　After about ten minutes.

"Oh?

　I noticed that part of the cliff was strangely red.

　As I got closer, I realized that it was a mural.

　It was a mural.

　There was a large painting on the cliff wall, painted in red paint.

(Looks pretty old.)

　It's weathered all over the place.

　But then I saw that the painting depicted what looked like a huge animal.

　The animal has the shape of a man, but it has large eyeballs, four hands, wings and a tail, and it also has fangs in its mouth, and it breathes fire from its mouth.

　A group of dwarfs were gathered around it, holding something that looked like a toothpick in their hands.

　The dwarfs at the end of the flames were all lying down.

''.........''

　A picture of a battle between a monster and a man...?　

　The dwarfs lying down, that is.........

　I tremble as I realize what that means.

(.........Are there real such terrifying demons in this other world?

　I looked around.

　The wind that was blowing was cold.

　The view of the forest, which had seemed peaceful, seemed somehow eerie.

''.........''

　I checked the cliffs a bit more, but I didn't see any other murals.

　Maybe they had all weathered and crumbled.

　I returned to the tower at the top of the hill, despondent, as I couldn't find another place to climb.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　It was already dusk when I returned to the tower.

　From the watchtower, I looked up at the blazing red sky and pondered.

(How am I going to get out of this forest?)

　That's what was bothering me.

　It seemed impossible to walk through this great forest that stretched out before us now, which stretched to the end of the horizon, on foot.

　If I could climb that precipice, there might be something beyond it.
　I had such hopes, but today, after checking, it turned out to be difficult to do so, too.

''...........''

　It's been two days since my reincarnation and nothing has come of it.

　My heart is heavy.
　Feeling depressed.

(No, I'm fine, I'm still fine.)

　I tell myself.

　It's only been two days.
　It's only been two days.

　Desperately, I encouraged myself to do so.

　I knew that if I despaired, I would never get up again.

　-- and the next thing I knew, the sun was setting.

　The surroundings were blackened and the stars were twinkling in the night sky.

(...Ah...)

　And that strange purple light was also born in the forest in pots and pans.

''..........''

　Shall we take the plunge and go?

　My impatient mind whispers that.

　Walking through the forest at night is scary, but maybe we'll find something to break the status quo.

(Yes, I will!)

　With that decision, I decided to go out of the tower.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


　I stepped out of the crack in the second floor.

..........

　It's pitch black.

　I'm not kidding, I can't even see my outstretched hand.

(Um ... oh yeah!)

　A thought occurred to me, and I went back inside the tower once.

　I walked out again.

Yeah, I can see a lot.

　I laughed at the fact that I had a clear view.

　A faintly glowing blue jewel wavered on my chest.

　Yes, it was one of the three small pendants in the desk drawer in that living space.

　Its glow was small, but it had enough light to dispel the darkness of the night.

(Thanks.)

　ping

　With his tiny fingers, he lightly flicks the gem.　

　A blue-white light flickers.

　Relying on that ephemeral blue-white light, I proceeded slowly into the forest at night.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　The forest at night had a somewhat different atmosphere than the peaceful forest during the day.

(.........it's kind of creepy.)

　The world is jet black, like a shadow puppet.

　I wonder if there are nocturnal animals in there, and every now and then I hear the sound of swaying plants and trees, which makes my timid heart jump every time I hear them.

'Calm down, calm down, me,'

　I told myself and proceeded to light up the front with the pale light of the pendant.

　I think I walked for an hour or two.

(I'm pretty sure it was ... around here.)

　I check the surrounding forest.

　Then I see a purple light leaking out from behind the jet-black trees about 20 meters away.　

　The light is slowly moving away.

(Is it moving?)

　Noticing this, I hurriedly followed it through the black trees.

　Ten meters.

　The distance was shrinking.

　Five meters.

　The purple light is on the other side of the big tree in front of me.

　I go around the tree.

　3 meters.

　Right in front of me, there it is...

"...what?

　It was - it was a huge skeleton.

　It had no lower body, but just its upper body, which was three meters tall.

　The huge body was floating in the air, lilyilyilyily, wrapped in black rags from its head, and its entire body was emitting that purple light.

　In its large bony hand, it held a great sword that was rusty red and broken.　

(............)

　I couldn't speak.

　The giant skeleton stared at me with a haunting light in its sunken eye sockets.

　The giant body moved toward me as if it were shaking.

　As if pushed by the pressure, my foot unconsciously takes a step back.

　Snap!

　I stepped on a twig.

　The sound brought me back to myself, and like a de-rabbit, I ran away as fast as I could.

(Whoa!　(What's that, what's that, what's that?!

　I don't know why.

　Selflessly, I ran through the Black Forest.

　Crunch, bish.

　The branches of the trees snagged on him, tearing his clothes and tearing his skin.

　But that didn't stop him from walking.

　His biological instincts screamed.

　That thing is an inhabitant of the world of death, never to be touched by the living!

　He was not an easy person to approach with ease.

(Bad, bad!)　

　From behind, a tremendous pressure loomed.

　A blue-white light illuminating the trees in the forest ahead, and then a haunting purple light caught up to it, finally overlapping.

''Ha!''

　I looked back.

　-- The giant skeleton that controls death was right there.

　The great red rusty sword was being raised in front of me.

　Reflexively, I tried to block it with my staff.

　Thump!

　The great sword that was swung down easily snapped its staff and bit into my left shoulder to near my shin.

''........Ah?''

　A strong shock.

　Blood poured out of my mouth as I gasped out in surprise.

　Rather than pain, a scorching heat is born and burns my brain.

　Thud.

　I fell to the ground.　

(I can't ... can't breathe.)

　Cough.

　The wound is hot, but I can feel it cooling from the ends of this little body.

(No way ... am I going to die, me?)

　That fact stuck in my mind.

　I hadn't done anything since my reincarnation, and yet I didn't know anything about the identity of this skeleton or this other world....

　The horrible skeleton stared at me for a while.

　Eventually, it turns itself around and leaves deep into the forest.

　Wobbling, wobbling.

　Shaking its violet light, it disappears into the pitch black world.

(Ah....)

　After witnessing this, my vision rapidly blurred.

　I can't see anything anymore.

　I can't see anything.

　I'm unconscious...

　...

　--The second night after being reborn in another world, I died this way.